Rewind

Chapter 3: Lol, I'm Going to Die

The next thing that I knew, Mom was driving like a maniac, trying to get Theo and I to Camp Half-Blood as fast as possible.

"Theo, why didn't you tell me about the monster?" Mom asked, worry and fear clipping her words sharply.

"I thought that I had imagined it," Theo defended himself, nervousness and worry creasing a line between his brows.

It was freaky how alike-- yet different --we were. Theo was calmer than I was at 12, he was level-headed, but when the storm came, it came hard. He didn't blow up or get angry a lot, but when he did, it was unforgettable. The kid made all the shark tanks explode in an aquarium when he was being bullied by a few other teens when I exploded only one. I was very proud of Theo that day.

I'm more patient and cautious in this timeline than before, a trait from the long, hard life I was forced to live as the son of Poseidon. Hopefully Theo will be better off than I was.

Scarfing blue candy down my throat, I watch Mom and Theo talk about Camp Half-Blood, Grover yelping every once in a while as commentary when Mom made a particularly sharp turn.

I felt static in the air as we started to reach the hills outside of Camp Half-Blood and groaned. Here comes the lightning.

Boom!!!

I felt myself crash through the windshield, glass shattering and the breath knocked getting out of my lungs as I tumbled onto the grass of the hill I landed on.

Come on, seat belts! Do your job!

Then, I realized that I hadn't been wearing a seat belt.

So much for me being more cautious.

I faintly hear Mom and Theo yell my name, my ears ringing and my head spinning in pain.

I wince and roll onto my back, clutching my side as I shakily sat up on the itchy grass stained with blood- my blood. Glass from the windshield decided than my rib-cage would be it's new home.

I heard Grover groan faintly about food somewhere to my left. Looks like he had a flying lesson with the windshield too.

I climb to my feet, biting my lip to restrain a cry of pain. I really do recommend wearing seat belts. Glass hurts when it's inside of your rib-cage.

I stumble over to Grover and grabbed one of his legs to drag him over the Camp barrier.

"Let's go!" I yell over to Mom and Theo, who were running up the hill to get to me. I flinched with every step, each step making my side bleed more and more.

Mom gasped once she saw my blood-soaked side. "Get to the tree, Percy! People will come to heal you!" She crossed her arms, and I sensed that she was about to lecture me. "What the hell where you thinking, Percy? Not wearing a seat belt?! I--"

Mom was interrupted (thankfully) by a roar (unthankfully) that I recognized as the roar of a Minotaur. He looked like the exact ground beef I knew so well.

Springing into action, Mom and Theo jumped into it's path, irritating it and teasing it until it charged. While they distracted ground beef, I laid Grover down within the boarder and turned back to the fight.

Mino had set his eyes on me, his head lopsided from a missing horn. I twisted my ring, and as promised, I had armor and a sword. The armor pushed the glass deeper into my side and I had to swallow the grunt that threatened to come out of my throat.

Through watery eyes, I see Mino charging at me. My eyes widened in surprise when the bull crossed the boarder line. That wasn't supposed to happen!

When he was within range, I swung my sword in a large arch and he turned into pixie dust.

Theo was just behind the Mino, a horn raised in the air with a face flushed in anger and eyes wide in shock as the bull turned into gold dust. Theo didn't ask about the sword and armor, he just dropped the Minotaur horn, grabbed Grover, and told me to help him carry the satyr further into camp.

Together, we hobbled as fast as we could, my footsteps faltering and dragging more and more, the blood loss and pain weighing me down.

I eventually crash to my knees, fatigue taking over me. I was way to tired for this shiza.

"Come on, Percy! Hold on, we're almost there!" Theo begged, shaking my shoulder while tears streaked down his face. I saw the ground rushing at my face, the grass bright and happy looking, mocking my current state.

I heard Theo call out for help, sobs making his voice crack before I promptly blacked out.

I had no time to wonder why Theo was crying.